Mortgages

With tougher capital requirements looming, a number of regionals including U.S. Bancorp, Huntington and Santander are using these new instruments to share risk with nonbank investors and lighten their capital load. Experts point out the pros and cons.

Some large Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portfolios have gone to market recently and an unusual Ginnie Mae multifamily and healthcare package is up for sale too.

Equity-rich mortgages — those that have a loan-to-value ratio of 50% or lower, meaning the borrower's equity stake is at least half the property's value — decreased to 46.1% from 47.4% the prior quarter, according to the US Home Equity & Underwater Report published by real estate data firm ATTOM. 

As a result, a robust housing market is now on the horizon, Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater declared.

The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 includes restoration of a 12.5% increase in the program's 9% limit that expired in 2021.

The lender has signed a letter of intent to acquire single-family mortgage operations and staff, according to Rick Arvielo, NAF's chief executive.

A key Senator had urged Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower rates early this year, but although there's more consensus on making such a move, it now looks unlikely to happen until after the next meeting.

The wholesale giant touts the move as giving brokers a leg up on banks and retail lenders waiting for the next origination wave.

Aspiring buyers took out fewer loans last week, leading to the overall decline, but the average purchase-loan size also surged to its highest mark since last spring, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The company's building unit saw income slow, but the mortgage banking division number accelerated on both a quarterly and annual basis.